When I was a about 8 or 9 there was an old man who lived up the road, his name was Mr. Owen. He had a donkey that pulled a wagon. I would pet the donkey every chance I got and I thought he was the most beautiful animal I had ever seen. One day Mr. Owen told me that if I would take care


of the donkey, he would give it to me. I was the proudest little boy in the county! I would ride him and go to the charcoal mill to get bark for kindling. I would put the bark in toe sacks and throw it over the donkey’s back and haul it to the house. My cousin Slap, had a quarter horse named midnight. All the boys made fun of my donkey. One day I told Slap that my donkey could out run his quarter horse. We were going to race from the store to the blacksmith shop. Needless to say, Slap was there and back before I could even get my donkey to move! Maybe my donkey couldn’t run fast but he was the prettiest donkey in the world!
~John